Passing Through

This blog will follow the installation of the "Passing Through" Public art project at Tunxis Community College in Farmington, CT. "Passing Through" is a permanent installation by Brad Guarino commissioned by the State of Connecticut for Tunxis Community College through the Department of Administrative Services; Division of Construction Services
and the Connecticut Office of the Arts, DECD.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Monday, January 13, 2014

Today the
final silhouettes were installed. In all, there are 50 silhouettes, four of
these are inanimate objects, and three are fused double figures, making 48 life-sized
human figures (and one super-sized turtle.) Thirty-three Tunxis participants are
represented—twenty-nine students, two alumnae, the college president, and one faculty
emeritus. Some of the participants are represented twice. Students were
selected through an essay competition in which they were asked to discuss their
journey to Tunxis Community College. There will be a website that will identify participants by their silhouettes and present their stories.

The
silhouettes are made of 14-gauge stainless steel and are bolted to the wall with
an average of 10 stainless-steel high-security machine screws. Some of
the ground-level silhouettes are backed by thicker stainless steel “bridge”
pieces that allow them to pass over the wall molding. The silhouettes were
laser cut by Labco Welding in Middletown, CT and contractor Anders Bachmann
helped me with the installation.

Project Statement

In his history of Tunxis Community College, A Bend in The River, former Tunxis professor Edward Ifkovic suggests that community college is "akin to life on the American western frontier. Out west, in the early days of exploration, no one asked about your past…you were, quite simply, judged by your present behavior and morality." He would tell his students that no matter how horrible their high school transcripts or other transgressions or failures, “we judge you from the eternal Now.” Throughout the book, he makes clear through personal reflections as well as through interviews with former Tunxis students that both the students and the college have had to overcome many obstacles in their journey to achieve their respective potentials. This installation is inspired by Ifkovic’s analogy, his history of the school, and the stories of the students who participated in this project.

Passing Through is an installation of stainless steel silhouettes of human figures hiking and engaging in related activities. Tunxis students have modeled for the silhouettes, making this a community project and connecting the installation to the school’s population at the point in its history when this addition to the college was built. The figures all carry backpacks or bags, a reference to the life experiences we all carry with us. Passing Through is a metaphor for the educational experience—for overcoming obstacles, leaving the past behind, and striving for a better future.